Dung fungi as a proxy for megaherbivores: opportunities and limitations for archaeological applications

Dung fungi as a proxy for megaherbivores: opportunities and limitations for archaeological... The use of spores of coprophilous fungi from sedimentary sequences as proxy evidence for large herbivore abundance has garnered pronounced attention and scrutiny over the past three decades. In response to the rapid rate at which new informa- tion is being discovered on this topic, this paper presents a brief review of the archaeological applications so far, and outlines opportunities and limitations of using Sporormiella as a proxy for herbivore abundance. Specific archaeological uses of this proxy include understanding megaherbivore extinctions and human land use patterns such as pastoralism and agriculture. We analyse how dung fungal records are formed and review the mycological literature to outline factors affecting spore reproduction and preservation. These include how strongly each commonly used dung fungal taxon relies on dung as a sub- strate and environmental factors affecting dung fungal reproduction and coprophilous fungi deposition. Certain laboratory preparation techniques adversely affect spore representation on pollen slides. The methods of analysis and quantification of spore records also impact our understanding. We describe good practice to increase precision of analytical methods. Due to limitations imposed by some of these factors, it is possible that an absence of dung fungi from a palaeoecological record does not imply http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Springer Journals

Dung fungi as a proxy for megaherbivores: opportunities and limitations for archaeological applications

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Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Subject
Earth Sciences; Paleontology; Biogeosciences; Climate Change; Anthropology; Archaeology
ISSN
0939-6314
eISSN
1617-6278
D.O.I.
10.1007/s00334-018-0686-7
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The use of spores of coprophilous fungi from sedimentary sequences as proxy evidence for large herbivore abundance has garnered pronounced attention and scrutiny over the past three decades. In response to the rapid rate at which new informa- tion is being discovered on this topic, this paper presents a brief review of the archaeological applications so far, and outlines opportunities and limitations of using Sporormiella as a proxy for herbivore abundance. Specific archaeological uses of this proxy include understanding megaherbivore extinctions and human land use patterns such as pastoralism and agriculture. We analyse how dung fungal records are formed and review the mycological literature to outline factors affecting spore reproduction and preservation. These include how strongly each commonly used dung fungal taxon relies on dung as a sub- strate and environmental factors affecting dung fungal reproduction and coprophilous fungi deposition. Certain laboratory preparation techniques adversely affect spore representation on pollen slides. The methods of analysis and quantification of spore records also impact our understanding. We describe good practice to increase precision of analytical methods. Due to limitations imposed by some of these factors, it is possible that an absence of dung fungi from a palaeoecological record does not imply

Journal

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany – Springer Journals

Published: Jun 6, 2018

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